Hamilton zeroes in on Formula One crown

LEWIS Hamilton got the Mexican Grand Prix victory party he craved but he’ll have to wait another week for a sixth Formula One world championship.

The Mercedes driver overcame Ferrari’s front-row start to win at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on Sunday, pushing him so close to the season title that he’s all but guaranteed to win it next week in Texas.

“I don’t mind. I love racing,” Hamilton said after climbing out of his car with a wave to the massive crowds in Mexico.

“This is a race I’ve wanted to win for some time. It came together nicely.”

It came together because Hamilton overcame damage to his car floor from an opening-lap collision with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, and then managed an early tyre change to drive away with a comfortable win over Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Only Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas’s third-place finish denied Hamilton the season championship by the slimmest of margins, with polesitter Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari fourth.

Hamilton needed to beat Bottas by 14 points, but picked up 10 instead while earning his 10th win of the season and 83rd of his career.

That sends the championship to next week’s US Grand Prix, where Hamilton has won five times since 2012. He clinched the 2015 title there.

“It’s been a good hunting ground for me,” Hamilton said of the US race. Australia’s Daniel Ricciardo in his Renault was eighth with his teammate Nico Hulkenberg rounding out the top 10.